Link Centre Dictionary

waist

UK/weɪst/ US/ˈweɪst/ fairly common

noun

1.

the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips

Synonyms
2.

the narrow part of the shoe connecting the heel and the wide part of the sole

Synonyms

Origin

Inherited from Middle English wast (“waist”), probably from Old English *wæst, *wǣst, *weaxt, *wæhst, from Proto-West Germanic *wahstu, from Proto-Germanic *wahstuz (“growth, development, stature, build”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weks- (“to multiply, increase”). Cognate with Middle English wacste (“growth, increase, might, power”), Middle High German wahst (“growth”), Danish vækst (“growth”), Swedish växt (“growth, development, size”), Icelandic vöxtur (“growth”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌷𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃 (wahstus, “growth”). Related to Old English weaxan (“to grow, increase”). More at wax.

Phrases

  • drop waist
  • dropped waist
  • emancipation waist
  • empire waist
  • paperbag waist
  • shirt waist
  • snatched waist
  • strip to the waist

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.